


Can't help it

by Braindead1595



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxiety, Helios - Freeform, Hyperion, M/M, PA!Rhys, Sass, Unrequited Crush, rhack - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-09-26 03:11:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9859469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braindead1595/pseuds/Braindead1595
Summary: Rhys can't help his crush on Jack. And Jack can't help being an asshole.It all started with an invitation to an important meeting.





	1. lunches and meetings

**Author's Note:**

> The start is taken from a prompt.
> 
> This work on Tumblr: https://god-damn-hero.tumblr.com/post/157539574308/cant-help-it

“I can't help who I'm attracted to, even if it's the… sexy, intense, deadly ones.”  
Rhys said, nervously shrugging. „Well, I'd just advise you not to get tangled up in any kind of drama“, Vaughn said, shoving up his glasses with one hand. Then he gave an apologetic look and took a bite of his lunch.  
Rhys didn't feel like eating and kind of zoned out, watching the other people sitting on tables, eating and chatting. His CEO, Handsome Jack, asked him to join in on the meeting today. He had never been invited before, heck he never even met Handsome Jack personally. He is just some low-level desk monkey, how would he? Well, apparently his status didn't matter now. Maybe he could expect a raise? Well of course this would be a great opportunity for him. If there wasn't this stupid crush he had on his boss. 

Yes, he was crushing hard on Handsome Jack, the president of Hyperion. Yes, he knew how stupid that was. But he couldn't help it, could he? God, if Jack would ever visit him in his office and he'd see all the posters... The president himself surely would know that they're in fact not standard issued for Hyperion employees. At least not the amount that was hanging in the company man's office.  
Rhys sighed. He was really anxious. Maybe he should tell Jack's secretary that he was feeling sick and couldn't attend the meeting. No, maybe he'd lose his job for that, or worse, Jack would show up himself and drag him to the meeting personally. On second thought, he'd kinda like that. Wait what. Rhys shook his head in an effort to clear his mind a bit. 

„Hey, bro, don't beat yourself up over this. There'll probably be lots of other high-level employees at the meeting. I mean, it's not like you'll be alone in a room with Handsome Jack, right? Just relax, speak up when you're asked to and everything will be fine.“ Vaughn said with a shrug and gave a reassuring smile. Rhys nodded and returned a half hearted smirk. Yeah, he was probably right. There would be no chance of Jack having a meeting only with him. That would be ridiculous. 

 

Rhys was legitimately shaking. He was taking his time and was still too damn early for the meeting. His nerves really got the better of him, which resulted in him standing in front of the meeting room already.  
„Everything's alright. Breathe. You're gonna be fine,“ he tried to reassure himself in a hushed voice. Okay he was just trying to not freak out completely.  
As he took a few deep breaths he heard a very familiar voice from down the hall. Rhys turned around and sure enough it was Handsome Jack. He was talking on his ECHO device and was wildly gesturing with his arms. Rhys realized that he was holding his breath and after a confused moment he forced himself to exhale slowly. He considered to run and hide for a moment but he rejected the idea almost immediately since his knees were weak. Also Jack had probably noticed him already, but was too busy to acknowledge him.

„Uuh, yeah yeah, I- uh, I gotta call you back. I have a meeting now. Bye.“ Handsome Jack said and then looked Rhys over.  
„Hey, kiddo. Can I help you?“ He asked, but before Rhys had a chance to react (not that he would‘ve been able to) his gaze wandered to Rhys‘ cybernetic arm, up to his ECHO eye and his neural port.  
„Ah, I know, you‘re the robot boy! Uh, Rhys? Yeah, that‘s it.“ Jack cracked a smile and offered his hand. He clicked his tongue.  
„Nice to meet‘cha.“  
Rhys felt like falling and blacking out. Why him? No, more like, how? He cleared his throat and returned the handshake.  
„N-nice to finally meet you, uh, sir.“ He wanted to kick himself for being such a wuss. But Jack chuckled.  
„Oh please don‘t call me sir, pumpkin. Just call me Jack.“ He grinned and Rhys couldn‘t do much else but nod and smile faintly. 

 

They were sitting down at the huge table inside the otherwise empty office room and Jack insisted that Rhys should sit to his right. They were still early and nobody came in so far. So Rhys gathered all his courage to try and have a normal chat with his boss.  
"Alright, Jack, why did you invite me to this meeting? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm honored, really. It's just that I'm just some low-level employee and you're, uh..." Rhys vaguely gestured towards the CEO, his voice trailing off.  
"Oh please, don't degrade yourself, cupcake. I noticed your eagerness to climb up the corporate ladder of this shithole. And I gotta admit, I'm somewhat impressed." He winked at him and Rhys' heart took a leap. Jack must've noticed his look of utter surprise though.  
"What? I mean going as far as getting those implants just to have an advantage over your coworkers? Geez, kitten," he chuckled at the end and Rhys anxiously touched his neural port. He let out a nervous laugh.  
"No need to be shy, Rhysie," Jack said in a playful tone and gave him a nudge, making the other flinch. 

Finally people started to file into the room and the company man relaxed a little. Though he felt really out of place, especially sitting at Jack's side. As if he was some kind of lapdog. Well actually, the way he admired Jack remotely resembled the relationship between a dog and its owner.  
Rhys sighed and got a side glance from Jack who started to greet the group of Hyperion employees. Seemed like everyone arrived and they could finally start the meeting. 

The president opened with his usual speech, the one you could hear over the speakers all over Helios after lunch breaks and such. Something to 'motivate' the employees to work even harder. Well, if you can call death threats motivational.  
Rhys looked over the table, watching the people. A few actually whispered to each other, pointing at him. Sure, he could've expected this. He wasn't a high ranked member of Hyperion like they are and yet he was sitting there, right beside the company's president himself. So the gossiping was no big surprise.  
Rhys teared his eyes away from the manager staff and focused on Jack instead, who shot him a dirty grin. He should've payed better attention, because he was completely thrown off when Jack grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanks his head to the side. He yelped in surprise.

"Do you see this?" Handsome Jack asked, tapping the neural port and sending a jolt down Rhys' spine. Jack noticed that and made a mental note of it.  
"This guy's got cybernetic implants to have an advantage and get ahead his coworkers in data-mining!"  
Rhys saw differing reactions from disgust, over curiosity, to genuine interest. What the hell was happening.  
"This is exactly the kind of ambition I'm talking about here, fellas! Sure, it's kind of cheating, but heck, if I didn't do the same. I wouldn't even be the CEO now." Jack grinned proudly and let go of Rhys' hair. 

The company man didn't know how to react. He had a bewildered look on his face when he watched Jack continue to go on about how certain departments were slacking and that they could follow 'robot boys' example. The company man pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn‘t believe this. Jack only invited him to showcase him. To make a fool out of him. Rhys crossed his arms over his chest. He was angry and somehow disappointed. He didn't know exactly what he expected to come out of this meeting but it was certainly not this.  
"And that's why I'm giving you, Rhys, a promotion!" Jack announced broadly and Rhys' head snapped around to him.  
"A promotion?" He asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.  
"Yes. You're going to be my new personal assistant."  
Rhys' jaw dropped.


	2. introductions and fanboying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack embarassing Rhys and some neural port touching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work on Tumblr: https://god-damn-hero.tumblr.com/post/157997206523/cant-help-it-chapter-2

Jack mentioned a few other things before dismissing everyone from the meeting, except for his new personal assistant.  
"So, what'cha thinkin', baby boy? You ready to tackle this task?" Jack asked, flashing him a wide grin. Oh that little shit better be fucking grateful. Rhys furrowed his eyebrows.  
"Yeah, Jack. Thank you very much. Would've been nice if you warned me beforehand," he scoffed and Jack's jaw clenched.  
"Excuse me?" Jack's voice was low, almost a growl and carried a threatening undertone. Did he seriously think being snarky was a good idea?  
"Uhm, I mean... Shit, I'm sorry, Jack. I'm just in shock, I guess. I really didn't expect this." Rhys apologised quickly, voice high and a scared expression on his face.  
"You better be, cupcake. If you don't behave I might have to throw you out of an airlock. And you don't want that, right?" Jack snarled. He liked Rhys' ambition but it seemed like he'd need to teach the boy some manners.  
"Right." The company man nodded excessively.  
"Good boy. Now, follow me. I'll show you the office," Jack exclaimed while getting up from his seat and Rhys followed suit. 

They were walking down the hallways, Rhys by Jack's side, who didn't seem to have trouble keeping up with Jack's fast pace. No wonder, considering the length of those legs.  
The CEO didn't even bother to reply to the formal greetings he got from the employees they passed. He didn't really care about his relationship with his staff. They respected him anyway as long as he didn't let them off the leash too much.  
"Your first day starts tomorrow. My secretary will show you the ropes and all that jazz you need to know." Jack informed Rhys before turning a corner.  
"T-tomorrow?!" Rhys almost shrieked. The CEO gave him an irritated look. What was wrong with him? Rhys seemed to pick up on the fact that Jack was not very amused and cleared his throat.  
"I mean, so soon? Why? Wouldn't it be easier to start fresh on the first day next month?" The company man asked with furrowed eyebrows. Jack laughed.  
"Rhysie, if you're not up to it, you can just tell me. You could always go back to your old position, kitten. But we both know that that would bring some consequences with it." He wiggled his eyebrows. Only a fool would turn down such an opportunity, but Jack wasn't sure yet how clever this kid actually was.  
"No, no, I won't turn this down. It's just that I feel very pressured. This is a pretty big deal and I'm afraid that I could fail you, you know?" He looked down to the ground, slightly slowing his pace. The other sighed.  
"Listen, cupcake, you'll be fine. I'm sure of it." He tried his best not to crack up. Jack understood that he needed to encourage this angsty guy to reveal his full potential.  
"The first weeks you'll do nothing more than running errands anyway. No biggie. You'll get the hang of it soon." Now he chuckled softly.  
"Oh, yeah, sure. That's what a PA does. Right." Rhys nodded and his confidence seemed to come back a bit. God he was a wuss. Jack was sure that this would keep getting on his nerves. But he could surely find a solution. 

"Here we are," the president exclaimed, stopping in front of the door that was leading to his office.  
"Wait, we'll be sharing an office?" Rhys' voice cracked.  
"Yeah, of course! A boss and his personal assistant need to work close together. That a problem?" Jack went inside the spacious room and turned to look at his PA.  
"Uh, no, of course not," He answered quickly, following Jack.  
"Wow," Rhys exclaimed breathless with awe when he looked around the room. It held two big desks with impressive, comfortable looking chairs, a few cabinets and showcases with shiny things in it. Opposite the door was a big glass wall with a perfect view on Elpis, which reflected a purple light that glistened on the steel walls and ceiling.  
"I know, right? Isn't it beautiful?" Jack grinned widely. He had the best spot on Helios and he was frickin proud of it.  
"Yeah, amazing." The company man crossed the room and walked to the window to get a better look. Jack chuckled to himself and sat down on the surface of his desk. It was silent for a moment while Rhys walked around the room and the CEO watched him intently.  
"You know, I always tried to imagine what your office might look like." The company man chuckled quietly.  
"So? Were you correct?" Jack raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh no, I was far off. You always struck me as a guy that would have a recamier or something like that in his office." He laughed and stepped towards his boss.  
"A recamier? Are you serious?" Jack snickered. What a silly thought.  
"Yeah, I don't know." His PA shrugged and a wolfish grin crept over Jack's face. 

"Oh, right, do you want me to get the posters from your old office? Redecorate this place? Or is a real me enough for your fanboy needs, pumpkin?" Jack watched the color drain from Rhys' face.  
"W-what do you mean?" He stammered, looking kind of lost.  
"Oh, you know, the 'Hyperion issued' motivational posters. The ones all over your office walls. No need to deny it, kitten, I saw them." Handsome Jack winked and Rhys looked like he just got struck by lightning.  
"No, thanks, I'm good," he managed to get out despite being obviously flustered.  
"Good. Would've been weird anyway. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like looking at myself. But having the walls plastered with photos of me is a little over the top, don't you think?" The president looked at Rhys with a very smug expression who simply nodded and looked away shyly.  
"Oh, no need to be ashamed, cupcake. Nothing wrong with being attracted to such a great man like me." With that he hopped down from the desk and stepped in front of the other. Rhys looked a little startled and tensed up. Suddenly Jack's face lit up with an idea and he didn't hestitate before he moved his hand up to touch the neural port again. There was a faint electrical sound and Jack could see the ECHO eye flicker before Rhys screwed his eyes shut for a very brief moment.  
"Please, don't do that, Jack," his PA said with a firm expression.  
"Why?" Jack tilted his head slightly and proceeded to poke Rhys' neural port again. This time he jerked away, one hand up to protect his temple. That was interesting. Jack wondered what it must felt like, his nerdy programmer nature coming through.  
"It feels weird. I don't like it." Rhys murmured and moved away from his boss.  
"Alright. I can respect that, pumpkin." Jack said, hands on his hips. Didn't mean he necessarily will respect it, though. This was way too fascinating for him to not explore it further.  
"Thanks." Rhys gave a faint smile and nodded.  
"Sure. Well, enough dicking around. Let's get you to Meg," Jack said and shoved his new personal assistant out of his office.


	3. files and discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys comes home and Vaughn is very curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work on Tumblr: https://god-damn-hero.tumblr.com/post/158408411738/cant-help-it-chapter-3

Rhys stepped into the flat and took off his shoes before flopping down onto the couch. Vaughn wasn't home yet since Jack let Rhys go early. After his promotion. His head was spinning. Handsome Jack's personal assistant. He still couldn't believe it.   
'Meg' or 'Carol' or whatever her name was - honestly Jack was a terrible boss for not remembering it correctly - gave him some paperwork and data to start with. He'd get to that later though. Right now Rhys needed to process everything that happened today. He remembered the talk at lunch with his best friend. Wait - he didn't eat anything today. As if on cue his stomach rumbled and Rhys sighed. Yeah he should probably eat something.   
The company man stood up and went to the small kitchen. After rummaging through the fridge he found an instant meal and put it into the microwave. Rhys grabbed a soda from the fridge aswell and placed it on the counter along with a fork. When he heard the ping of the microwave he took the food and sat down to eat. 

After the company man finished his meal he put the dirty plate and fork into the dishwasher and walked towards his room. On his way Rhys grabbed his bag and put it on his desk. He sat down and pulled out the little ECHO drive and the folder. At this point he grew even more curious than he was before and plugged the drive into his computer as soon as it had started up and showed his desktop. A window popped open and Rhys could see a few files: Detailed information about each department at Hyperion, a list with all employees and their resumes, including Handsome Jack, a schedule, a list of codes and current projects appropriate for his clearance level and a password encrypted file he couldn‘t open.   
"Huh, weird," Rhys muttered to himself. Why did Jack put it on the drive in the first place if his PA wasn't allowed to see it?   
He dug through each file, read them thoroughly and payed special attention to the one with the codes. But he couldn‘t find a password or even a hint. Then he actually read the name of the file: Wi1d1ife_3xp10i7ati0n_9re5erve. 

"What the f-?" Rhys got interrupted by his ECHO device. Vaughn was calling him.   
"Rhys! How are you? How was the meeting?" His friend asked very curiously as soon as Rhys took the call. The screen popped up and showed a smiling Vaughn.   
"And you couldn't wait until you'd be home to ask me?" Rhys chuckled, touched by his best friends' genuine interest.   
"No. Tell me now." Rhys could see Vaughn grinning.   
"Okay, I hope you're sitting down. I got promoted," Rhys exclaimed with a proud expression.   
"To head of department? Rhys, that's awesome! We worked so hard for this!" Vaughn looked very happy and Rhys chuckled at the image of him in his palm.   
"No, buddy, not head of department. I'm Handsome Jack's personal assistant," he announced ceremoniously.   
"Dude! What? For real?" Vaughn was flabbergasted.   
"Yup," Rhys tried to play it cool, while on the inside he was still freaking out about it.   
"Dude, that's great! It's great, right?" Vaughn asked uncertain.   
"Yeah, sure! Come home and I'll give you all the details," the company man said with a grin.   
"Yeah, yeah alright. See you in a few," his friend nodded and ended the call.   
Rhys sighed and shook his head. Yeah of course it was great. An amazing opportunity.   
Right, where was he? He focused back on the computer screen. Rhys read the name of the file again, this time changing the numbers to letters: Wildlife Exploitation Preserve. He frowned. Honestly that sounded like something morally questionable. He had to talk to Jack about it tomorrow. For now he had to get to the papers. 

Rhys flinched slightly when he heard the apartment door open and just a few seconds later his - very excited - best friend came bouncing into his room.   
"Bro! Hey!" The small man was grinning widely.   
"Hey, Vaughn." Rhys smiled at him, turning in his chair, away from his desk.   
"Now, tell me everything! I already overheard some conversations. People aren't talking very nicely about you though," Vaughn babbled while he sat down on the others bed. Rhys frowned.   
"Really? Well honestly, that's no surprise. I mean I was just a lower datamining employee. And now suddenly getting promoted to the CEO's personal assistant. Eh, it's a big deal. I can understand that people are hating on me." He shrugged. He already figured that there would be people talking shit about him eventually.   
"They're calling you his lap dog," Vaughn interjected with an arched eyebrow.   
"Yeah, well, it is what it is." Rhys laughed nervously. 

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the meeting. Of course I was too early, but Jack was too. Well we kind of talk and he actually tells me that he admires my eagerness to climb up the corporate ladder of 'this shithole'." Rhys made quotation marks with his hands.   
"Really? Wow. What happened then?" Vaughn asked curiously.   
"Well, he said that he's impressed," Rhys grinned. Vaughn didn't need to know that Jack winked at him.   
"Then the other people came in. Mostly high-ups. I felt really out of place." He sighed.   
"I can imagine." Vaughn nodded.   
"Yeah, well everything goes normal, Jack holds his 'motivational' speech and everything, when suddenly he grabs my hair and yanks my head around. To show off my neural port and talk about how I'm a great example for work ethics and stuff." Rhys gestured with his hands. He was still agitated about it.   
"Oh geez, that sounds wild. But that's the reason why you got the promotion? So our plan worked even better than expected?" Vaughn was astonished.   
"Actually, yes. Well, he then showed me the office. We will be sharing the same one. It has a big ass window with a great view on Elpis," Rhys gushed. He didn't want to mention the neural port touching either. Remembering it still made him shiver and not in a good way. At least that's what he was telling himself. 

"Oh wow, you're lucky," his bro said and Rhys could sense the sarcasm in his voice.   
"I mean, of all the possible people it is you who gets promoted to Handsome Jack's personal assistant. You're practically in love with that guy. What are you going to do? Tell him how you feel? You know that he made homophobic remarks before when Yvette started dating Clarice. I'm actually impressed that he didn't make a new rule against gay relationships," Vaughn huffed and crossed his arms. Rhys rolled his eyes.   
"Yeah, I know, Vaughn. Thank you," he said sarcastically.   
"I don't think you need to worry about it, though. I'll be fine. And who knows, maybe my feelings will go away when I get to know him better and see how psychotic he really is." Rhys shrugged.   
"Yeeah, maybe." Vaughn didn't look very convinced. Rhys sighed.   
"Let's just see how my first day will go tomorrow and then we can judge." He smiled at his best friend and Vaughn nodded.   
"Alright. Let's see what tomorrow will bring."


End file.
